Transport Malta officials will not be issuing fines as of Wednesday afternoon, following industrial action ordered by UĦM, Voice of the Workers.

The industrial action was triggered by what UĦM described as an “unacceptable delay” in talks over a new collective agreement for Transport Malta employees.

Speaking to Times of Malta, UĦM transport section manager Kenneth Abela said Transport Malta officials will not be issuing contraventions while the industrial action is underway, but will still be stopping motorists who break the law and “speaking to them for educational purposes”.

The directive will also see Transport Malta officials reporting for work according to their original detail and not being redirected to other assignments, as customarily happens. Officials will also not be responding to phone calls until the issue is resolved.

According to the UĦM, talks on a collective agreement began in 2020, however, the union only received Transport Malta’s counter-proposals recently, with talks having stalled shortly after last year’s general election.

UĦM also pointed to the recent turnover of CEOs at the transport regulator as a reason given for talks having stalled. Transport Malta recently appointed Jonathan Borg as CEO, replacing Jeffrey Curmi who held the role for less than a year.

In a statement issued last week, the UĦM warned that industrial action would be taken if the situation was not resolved by Wednesday.

UĦM told Times of Malta that it will further escalate the action if an agreement isn’t reached by May 23.